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6 - 10 December 2007
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A Weekly Bulletin of Professional News, Guidance and Policy for Primary Care
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Word Version
Headlines...
- Strategy to Build on Success of Cancer Plan .....
- Framework to Improve Stroke Services .....
- Putting Guidelines into Practice .....
- Guide to GP Patient Survey 2008 in England .....
Guidance featured in Seven Days is uploaded weekly to the
RCGP Non-Clinical Guidance Database for General Practice.
Professional
News
Strategy to Build on
Success of Cancer Plan
Health Secretary, Alan Johnson, has
issued a comprehensive five-year plan to improve NHS cancer
services, building on the progress made since the publication of
the NHS Cancer Plan in 2000. It focuses on prevention, faster
treatment, extended screening, fast-track drug approval and
extended services for cancer survivors. Proposals include inviting
all women aged 47 to 73 to the Breast Cancer Screening Programme by
2012 and expanding the NHS Bowel Screening Programme to all men and
women aged 70 to 75 by 2010. The strategy notes that primary care
professionals must have quick and easy access to relevant
diagnostic tests - to rapidly exclude or diagnose cancer in
patients.
Cancer Reform Strategy (DH
Publication)
Framework to Improve Stroke
Services
The DH has published a national
stroke strategy - setting out a framework to raise the quality of
stroke prevention, treatment, and care and support over the next
decade. It includes a ten-point plan for action, covering patient
involvement; acting on warning signs; stroke as a medical
emergency; stroke unit quality; rehabilitation and community
support; participation in community activities; workforce; service
improvement; raising awareness of stroke; and disease prevention.
It calls for an effective process to alert GPs when stroke
sufferers return home from hospital and highlights the need for
good communication between acute stroke units and general
practice.
National Stroke Strategy (DH
Document)
Respiratory Infection
Increases Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke
Research published in the European
Heart Journal shows a strong association between recent respiratory
infection and major cardiovascular events. It also notes the
substantial benefits of reducing respiratory infection through
immunisation, treatment or prevention. In response to the findings,
George Kassianos, RCGP immunisation spokesman, said: “The RCGP has
repeatedly called for the influenza vaccination age to be lowered
to 50 years. This way, most patients with chronic disease will be
vaccinated against influenza and, as this research shows, it will
also prevent premature cardiovascular deaths (defined as those
occurring in the under 65s).”
Recent Respiratory Infection and Risk of Cardiovascular
Disease: case-control study through a general practice
database (European Heart Journal Online)
Entries Sought for RCGP
Research Paper of the Year Award
Nominations are now being accepted
for the Merck, Sharp and Dohme sponsored RCGP Research Paper of the
Year Award. It recognises exceptional and original research
relating to general practice or primary care. Judges will consider
papers from the UK and Republic of Ireland that have been published
in a peer reviewed journal during 2007. The winning author will
receive £1,000 which will be presented at the Research Paper of the
Year Dinner and Award ceremony on 11 June 2008. Practitioners are
encouraged to support the prize by nominating a paper that has
particularly impressed them. The closing date for entries is 10
January 2008 and more information can be obtained by contacting
RPY@rcgp.org.uk.
Targeting Key Areas to
Improve Services
Policy makers and healthcare
organisations are being asked to focus on six key areas in the year
ahead - commissioning; access; safety and effectiveness; care for
children and young people; sensitivity to individual needs; and
assessing quality through better information. This call comes from
the Healthcare Commission’s fourth State of Healthcare report,
which states that many PCTs do not fully understand the health
needs of their local people, making it difficult for them to buy
targeted services.
State of Healthcare 2007 (Healthcare
Commission Publication)
Nominations for Disability
Care Award Sought
Leonard Cheshire Disability (a
registered charity providing care and support services for disabled
people) and the RCGP are once again offering an annual award in
recognition of excellence in the organisation, accessibility or
delivery of care to disabled people. The closing date for
nominations is 18 January 2008 and the winner will receive £5,000
at the College’s spring general meeting.
Disability Care Award 2008 (RCGP
Website)
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Clinical
News
Putting Guidelines into
Practice
NICE has issued advice to encourage
all health professionals to change their practice in line with the
latest guidance. It discusses barriers to change; provides tips on
identifying obstacles to change within an organisation; illustrates
how to overcome problem areas; and provides real-life examples of
positive change.
How to Change Practice: understand, identify and overcome
barriers to change (NICE Guidance)
Guidance
Consultation on
Understanding and Managing Mental Health Problems
The Care Service Improvement
Partnership (CSIP) is consulting on its draft guidance, which aims
to find a shared vision for understanding mental health problems.
It is intended for those involved with the development and delivery
of services, and includes a section examining the general
practitioners’ perspective. Comments should be sent to sharedvisionconsultation@csip.org.uk
by 5 March 2008.
Finding a Shared Vision of How Mental Health Problems
Should be Understood (CSIP Guidance Document)
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England
Announcements
Guide to GP Patient Survey
2008
Instructions for the 2008 GP
patient survey have been issued by the DH. Changes to the
arrangements following lessons learned from 2006/2007 are included;
along with advice on selecting patients, the Data Protection Act
and payment. Practices should receive information packs in the week
commencing 14 January 2008.
GP Patient Survey (DH
Publication)
GP Role in Helping
Patients’ with Learning Disabilities
The DH has published a
consultation, seeking views on its priorities for the learning
disability agenda over the next three years. It outlines progress
made towards the Government’s vision - Valuing People – published
in 2001 and highlights new issues that need to be addressed. It
notes that GPs with a special interest in learning disability can
be used to help local practices improve the quality of their
services; states that comprehensive health checks for this group of
patients remains a departmental priority (in terms of contractual
negotiations with GPs); and calls on health professionals to make
their services accessible to these individuals. Comments on the
consultation report should be sent to valuingpeoplenow@dh.gsi.gov.uk
by the 11 March 2008.
Valuing People Now (DH Consultation
Paper)
Evaluation of the
Information Prescriptions (IPs) Pilot Project
An interim report evaluating the
use information prescriptions (IPs) has been published by a
consortium of three organisations - the Office of Public Management
(OPM), the University of York, and the Growth from Knowledge (GfK)
National Opinion Poll. The findings, from an assessment of the DH
pilot programme, will be used to inform the development of the
initiative ahead of its national roll-out. Key challenges
identified in the report include the issue of whether IPs should be
a formal requirement, for example, through the Quality and Outcomes
Framework. From 2008, IPs will be given to everyone with a
long-term condition or social care need, to guide them to reliable
sources of information to help them manage their condition.
Comments on the consultation should be sent to information.prescriptions@dh.gsi.gov.uk.
Evaluation
of the Use of Information Prescriptions
(Information Prescriptions Consortium Interim Report)
Maximising Practice Based
Commissioning (PBC) to Benefit Patients
According to a new NHS Alliance
report, Practice Based Commissioning (PBC) has emphasised the
pivotal role of GPs in the NHS and their role as gatekeepers.
However, it calls on other frontline clinicians to get involved in
service delivery to ensure PBC is effective and makes a number of
recommendations to help achieve this. To obtain a copy of “Clinical
Leadership for NHS Commissioning” contact admin@nhsalliance.org.
Reporting Serious Untoward
Incidents (SUIs) to PCTs
Londonwide Local Medical Committees
(LMCs) are reminding practices to notify their local PCT in writing
about any SUIs which may affect the contract performance. Such
incidents include the unexpected death of a patient, a serious
complaint, or a breach of confidentiality.
Reporting of Serious Untoward Incidents to the
PCT (Londonwide LMCs Press Release)
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Wales
Announcements
Tough Measures to Prevent
Bullying and Harassment in the NHS
New guidance to eliminate bullying
and harassment in the health service has been published by the
Welsh Assembly Government, in association with the NHS, healthcare
unions and the NHS Centre for Equality and Human Rights. It calls
on organisations to examine their culture and lists a set of values
that should be adopted including valuing all employees; encouraging
individuals to treat each other with respect; and being open,
transparent and fair.
Bringing Respect to Work (Welsh
Assembly Government Guidance Document)
Statistics on Immunisation
Uptake
The Statistical Directorate of the
Welsh Assembly Government has published data on immunisation uptake
showing that:
- 95% of children who reached their second birthday in the year
ending 31 March 2007 had been immunised against diphtheria,
tetanus, polio, pertussis (whooping cough), haemophilus influenzae
type b (Hib), and meningitis C.
- 88% had been immunised against measles, mumps and rubella
- 68% of people aged 65 or over were immunised against influenza
in the autumn and winter of 2005-2006
NHS Immunisation Statistics 2006-2007
(Welsh Assembly Government Statistics)
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Scotland
Announcements
Abolition of Prescription
Charges
Proposals to abolish prescription
charges by 2011 were announced by Health and Wellbeing Secretary,
Nicola Sturgeon, this week. By April 2008, the cost of
prescriptions will be reduced from £6.85 to £5.00; and patients
suffering from chronic or long-term conditions with pre-payment
certificates (PPCs) will have total prescription costs reduced from
£98.70 to £48.
Abolition of Prescription Charges (Scottish
Government Press Release)
Consultation on Draft
Regulations for Looked After Children
A consultation document on the
‘Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations 2008’ has been issued
by the Scottish Government. Regulation 22 examines the appointment
and composition of fostering panels - who approve foster carers –
and asks whether it is necessary to have a medical adviser on the
panel or whether the role could be covered in some other way (for
example, by written reports from applicants’ GPs). Comments should
be sent to
lookedafterchildrenscotlandregulations@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
by the 14 March 2008.
The Looked After Children (Scotland)
Regulations (Scottish Government Consultation
Document)
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Northern Ireland
Announcements
Review of Health
Inequalities in Deprived and Rural Areas
A new report from the Department of Health, Social Services, and
Public Safety (DHSSPS) shows a continuing gap in health
inequalities between the most deprived areas of Northern Ireland
and the country average. Outcomes in rural areas tend to be better
across most of the indicators used to measure health despite the
existence of some gaps. Key findings show that:
- A very small proportion of the population live more than 15
minutes from their nearest surgery
- A third of all practices are located within deprived areas and
a quarter in rural areas
- The average travelling time from the most deprived areas (3.2
minutes) to the nearest GP is around a third lower than in
non-deprived areas (4.6 minutes).
Health and Social Care Inequalities Monitoring System - Second
Update Bulletin 2007 (DHSSPS Document)
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Email:
info@rcgp.org.uk
Tel: 020 7581 3232 ext: 240
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Disclaimer
Seven Days uses third party information and neither endorses nor guarentees the accuracy or authenticity of these sources.
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